KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dick's Sporting Goods announced Tuesday it will stop selling assault-style rifles in stores nationwide, and it will no longer sell guns to anyone under the age of 21.
It said the company was deeply disturbed and saddened by the tragic events in Parkland, where a mass school shooting happened earlier this month.
The company writes, “Following all of the rules and laws, we sold a shotgun to the Parkland shooter in November of 2017. It was not the gun, nor type of gun, he used in the shooting. But it could’ve been.”
The move will only affect 35 Field & Stream stores, as Dick’s stores made a similar move after the 2012 school shooting in Newtown, Conn.
The announcement has sparked a conversation across the nation, including here in Kansas City.
“I support private stores to sell to whoever they choose,” explained mother Brett Jansen, who believes you should be 21 to buy a gun. However, the Kansas City resident says that needs to be universal.
“Voting. And we can't allow 18-year-olds to go overseas and fight for our country and come back and not have weapons to protect themselves,” said Jansen.
That view is shared by gun instructor Don Pind who said mandatory gun training would be a better move by the sporting goods retailer.
“Are they doing anything to protect the public? I don't really think so, I really don't,” said Pind.
Pind said he does expect sales to go up, but gun buyers who want assault-style rifles usually would not buy from Dick’s but a specialty store.
Field & Stream stores will also no longer sell high-capacity magazines.
But Pind argued a competent gun owner could change magazines in about a second.
Former U.S. Army Ranger John Higgs said he’s appalled by Dicks' announcement and said the retailer is overreaching its boundaries.
"I swore to defend this country against all enemies. Foreign and domestic,” said Higgs, who said he supported the constitution, not just in bits and pieces.
In the statement, Dick’s said the system in place is not effective to protect kids or citizens.
A safe world is what Jansen hopes for as she watches her son grow. Though she does admit her grandfather served in World War II and was able to carry a gun at an age under 21.
“I say this as a registered Republican — there needs to be some government intervention in this case to regulate this more,” said Jansen.
Jansen also believes big data companies – like Facebook and Google — should step in if they see online threats. That way plans can be thwarted before there are problems.
